Zombie Riots
by pancakes21
Summary: Itachi was just sipping his coffee, trying to read the morning paper before classes begun at Konoha U. Sakura was just trying to get some last minute grocery shopping in. They weren't expecting the city to start rioting, and they certainly weren't expecting the undead to join in. Modern/Zombie AU.
1. Riots Begin!

"Kisame, stop the car," Itachi said abruptly. Instinctually, a hand shot out to steady Kisame's chest as he slammed on the brakes. It was a very mom-like thing to do, but Kisame was way past that now. Itachi was always the worst 'backseat driver' - shouting out instructions, like stop here, or go there, but he never actually volunteered to drive anywhere, despite Kisame's complaints. What made Itachi seem even more like a soccer mom was the fact they were driving an eleven-seater van.

"Uh, I don't know if you've _freaking noticed_ yet bud, but this isn't really the _best_ place to park," said Kisame sarcastically, pointing at people running around in front of them. "There's some sort of freaky-shit going down. We have to meet up with the others. _Now_." Nonetheless, he still brought the van to a complete stop, skidding to a halt in the middle of the road, screams and burning buildings erupting from all sides. All hell was breaking loose.

Ever since the City riots a few days ago, things hadn't been the same. People ran around, torching cops and looting stores, killing anybody who got in their way. And then the zombies showed up. It wasn't easy to tell the difference between human and undead anymore, and most people weren't even aware of the plague happening given the current commotion. All Itachi and Kisame knew was that now, no place was safe, except for of course the Akatsuki hideout. The one that Itachi was currently delaying them to by making Kisame stop the van.

Itachi didn't waste a moment in grabbing a shotgun from the glove compartment, and quickly ran out from the car. From the passenger side window he had seen a mob of guys chasing a girl down the street into somebody's front lawn. All four men were currently pinning her down. Later, he would learn that the group of men had been looting a department store when they had seen the woman running – holding a bag full of food. They meant to take the food and possibly a little something extra, but the appearance of the strange, dark-haired man pointing a gun at them startled them all and made them stop their activity.

"Be on your way now, she's ours, we saw her first!" yelled one of the men at Itachi, holding the struggling woman down by her arms.

"Leave her alone or I'll shoot," said Itachi, with a certain calm grace.

One of them made a move for the inside of his jacket, and Itachi didn't hesitate to shoot him square between the eyes.

One down. Seeing their friend murdered right in front of them, the other three bailed quickly.

Itachi sighed and walked over to the girl still sitting on the grassy lawn. The riot broke out about an hour ago in the downtown area, and seeing the girl's bags of groceries labeled "Party Store" he concluded that she must have been square in the middle of town when all hell broke loose.

He held out a hand to the girl but she shirked away from it quickly, as if he was offering her a snake.

"Hey, you don't have to thank me," he said, putting his hands up innocently and kneeling down on the blood stained grass to her meet her at eye level. "But do you at least have somewhere safe to go?" Itachi hated most people in the college town they lived in. Besides having the best business school in the country, it was also the biggest party school. Not only that, but most people were just rude. It was no surprise to him that the riots that had broken out reached their side of town so quickly.

Even as they spoke there were crowds of college students all around them, either running for their lives from the zombies and rioters (nobody could tell the difference anymore), or actually participating in the riots themselves - burning couches, beating people up, hauling stolen goods around, and many were just standing around, watching everything as it burned.

The girl shook her head, staring at Itachi suspiciously. The guy did just mercilessly shoot somebody right in front of her after all. He sighed.

"Well, if you prefer to stay _here_ you can. Otherwise you can come with us," he motioned towards the van with Kisame waiting impatiently in the driver's seat. "We are going someplace safe, away from all this," he motioned towards the vehicle again. He didn't know what he was doing in offering her to come with. Pain would be furious if he brought somebody else to their hideout. But he couldn't just leave this innocent girl here all alone. She seemed too... nice.

"C-can my roommate come too?" she stuttered at first. She became more confident, however, as she continued. "I'm not going anywhere without her."

 _No_.

"Sure," he said against his better judgement. "But hurry up."

She disappeared into the apartment complex nearby only to return a few seconds later with a friend who had short brown hair, both of them carrying backpacks filled with supplies, and he led them into the van.

"Itachi," growled Kisame quietly at the raven-haired man crawling back into the front seat, "who the hell are they?" He glanced back at the two ladies. They looked absolutely terrified and exhausted. They all were. With one look at Itachi however, he decided to let it go. He wasn't about to get in a fight with his friend, and he sure as hell wasn't going to dump the two girls out of the van. Pain wouldn't be happy about it, but they'd deal with it when they arrived. For now, his mission was to get through the hordes of people.

And let me tell you, they were lucky that Sasori had bullet proofed the van a few months ago. As they pulled out on Main Street along with the rest of the lunatics, a guy with an assault rifle kept rounding off shots at them until Kisame pulled the van off onto a side road, nearly running him over in the process.

"It looks like we'll have to take the long road around," the driver mumbled to his passengers. The car ride had been long already – as they had to make their way through the crowds of people, dead and undead bodies, rubble and the trash that littered the streets. And their huge van wasn't exactly sneaky. They had caught the attention of many angry mobs, but had managed to escape them all without seriously injuring anybody. Except for a couple guys holding signs that said "peace". Kisame had to run them over because they refused to get out of the middle of the street, all holding hands and chanting some mantra.

"Stupid people with their stupid ideals," said Itachi, voicing his opinions out loud. "At this point, peaceful protests will get you nowhere. It's hide or die until they send in the National Guard."

"At least they are trying to do _something_ ," mumbled the girl he had rescued, from somewhere in the back seat. He rounded on her, realizing for the first time that she had bubblegum pink hair.

"If they wanted to 'try to do something'," he said, face devoid of all emotion. "They could at least be useful. Like, oh I don't know, for example, _save other people's lives_."

She glanced at him with shining emerald eyes, remembering what he had done for her. "Thank you for saving me back there," she said quietly.

"No problem," he said, waving her off and turning forward in his seat again.

"My name is Sakura," she said tentatively. "And this is my friend Rin. We are both nursing students at the University, so we could be of some use to you," she pointed at Itachi's left arm, the gash and the blood that was soaking his sleeve.

Earlier that day Itachi was in a cafe on Main Street, before it was unnavigable, reading and relaxing before classes started, sipping his tea and unfolding the morning paper. That was when the tvs clicked on and the riots came on the news. Almost as if on cue, a bunch of guys in the cafe started going ape-shit - flipping over tables and firing off rounds in the place – men obviously associated with the riots. He managed to make it out of there unharmed, and was halfway to his apartment, before he was stopped by some crazy man attacking a family with a knife.

Itachi rushed in to help the family get away, but ended up getting slashed in the arm just before knocking the man out. Luckily, Kisame came running on the other side of the street at that moment, and they both made their way back to their apartment together to pick up some supplies before making it out of there in the trusty van.

"It doesn't look very deep, but I should still clean it so it doesn't get infected," said the pink-haired girl, shaking him out of his memories. He nodded and climbed into the back seat, taking his shirt off dramatically, supposedly to let her tend to his wound better but also because he was feeling cocky.

"...Because that was necessary," said Sakura unimpressed, rolling her eyes and pointing her thumb in the direction of his bloodied t-shirt lying in a heap on the floor of the vehicle.

He merely shrugged and held his arm out to her, trying to hide a smirk. She had a sassy attitude, and he liked that. Most girls he met would just fawn over him all the time – hardly good conversation partners.

"So, don't tell me you support the Riots then?" he decided to pursue their previous conversation.

"This violent _monstrosity_ that the peaceful protests turned into? Hell no," she said as she began her work. "But I can understand why they wanted change. The Konoha Police Force has been corrupt for a number of years. People have been going missing, shot in their homes with no investigation, drug and weapon runs have been happening so frequently, that they aren't even afraid to do it in broad daylight anymore.

"The Chief of Police has been trying, I suppose, but he's basically turning a blind eye to what has been happening right under his nose for years. Not to mention, the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are becoming richer. What are the good, law-abiding citizens in this town supposed to do? Sit around as they lose their children and families to drugs and gang violence? While the rich continue to sit in their lavish homes and gated communities?

Itachi blinked. This girl was very well informed, even if he didn't agree with anything she just said.

"But I don't think violence was the way to achieve this end," she said finally, wrapping up his wound with some gauze.

"How else are the people suppose to get the change that they want then?" Itachi questioned, glancing her up and down and deciding to play devil's advocate. "They had been protesting peacefully for days - weeks - and nothing. The media finally started paying attention once it got violent. _Now_ I'm pretty sure things might start changing."

Sakura's jaw dropped as she finished up his arm. "Are you saying _this_ ," she pointed out the van window at the hordes of people fighting as they passed by, "is a _good_ thing?"

Itachi shrugged, pulling his bloodied shirt back on. "True change cannot be made if it is bound by laws and limitations. Sometimes people must make painful choices." Annoyed by the wetness of the sleeve, he decided to rip it off of both sides – just to make it even – exposing his muscular arms. He climbed back into his seat beside Kisame.

"Well, I still think that it _could_ have been done peacefully," she muttered. Itachi smiled internally at her idealistic attitude, but kept his face as stoic as ever before. He was starting to like this Sakura. And perhaps Pain would like her too, seeing as her and her friend were nursing students, and could indeed prove to be useful.

About a half an hour later, Kisame pulled into a surprisingly quiet road, and up one of the driveways to a old-looking house. Parking the van in a garage, he told his passengers to get out. He led them out through to the front door. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky looked eerily blood-stained.


	2. Akatsuki House

Kisame pulled a key ring out of his pocket and allowed the metals to noisily jingle together as he moved to unlock the door. Every part of the gesture made Sakura uneasy, and she kept glancing down the empty streets, half expecting to see hordes of crazies mounting the sidewalks after them, like wild animals to the call of a dinner bell. As soon as he pushed the door open however they were greeted by two men, pointing shotguns directly in their faces.

"Oi, Kisame, yeah!" said one of the men after a few agonizing moments of tension and confusion, as both parties struggled to make out silhouettes against the darkening evening sky. Upon closer inspection, the two strangers put down their guns down and fist bumped Kisame instead, once he was recognized as a friend.

Out of all of their high school gang, only Kisame and Itachi had decided to go to the local college. Itachi for Business, and Kisame for Athletic Training. Itachi was blessed with a full ride based on his natural smarts, and Kisame had a full ride on an athletic scholarship. The scholarship was technically for baseball, and although Kisame was pretty good, his secret passion was for swimming - and he was one of the best on the Konoha Swim Team.

Every holiday and almost every weekend however, the two would take the short trip to hang out with their best friends from back home. Since almost everyone in their backwater hometown sucked, and the schools were filled with street fights and gangs, in junior high their leader Pain decided to start his _own_ gang – the Akatsuki – to be a sort of anti-gang thing.

Then in high school after Itachi's parents died... he signed up with Pain's crew, much to the dismay of his mentors and guardians – particularly his teachers, who always thought of him as a genius with 'too much promise to be wasting his life like that'. But Itachi had his reasons.

"Kisame, Itachi..." said the other man with red hair, greeting the two as they entered. "But, who are they?" he asked, pointing a thumb the two girls who followed after them, still trembling from the idea of having guns directed at their foreheads.

Sakura rolled her eyes at this man however, tired of everyone speaking about them as if they weren't there. Before she could respond however, Itachi spoke up.

"Relax Sasori, they're with us," and with that the man shut up and they all followed the blond haired one down the stairs into the basement. Once they were there, Kisame walked over to the other side of Sasori, and together the two lifted up the creaking floorboards, revealing a ladder leading into a hidden chamber.

"Come on," said Itachi to the two girls as he disappeared below. But did she really feel safe being cooped up in a bolted floorboard with a bunch of guys she hardly knew? Ones with _guns_ for that matter?

Sakura wasn't one to just follow some stranger into a car, or even follow said stranger into a creepy basement hatch. But she sure as hell wasn't going to go back outside. With a deep breath and a reassuring smile towards Rin, she gripped her friend's trembling hand and they both ducked underneath the floorboards, covering their mouths from the dusty air and smell of mold.

Although Sakura wasn't going to admit it anytime soon, she recognized Itachi from one of her University math classes. He was only one of the most gorgeous guys in her class (whole university?) and all the girls around her were constantly whispering about him. Except for _her_ of course. I mean, he was attractive and all, but she learned her lesson the hard way back in middle school that the type of guys _she_ was interested in didn't appreciate fangirls.

A few moments later the girls fully descended into what looked like a relatively spacious living room with stone walls, a carpeted floor and with nothing but a little, flickering light-bulb hanging from the ceiling to shed some light on their panicked expressions. Sakura imagined that it would be a freezing place to live in during the winter months.

As soon as their bare feet made contact with the crunchy carpet below, they were greeted by eleven pairs of angry eyes, all directing their curiosities at her and Rin as if they were tasty prey that had just descended down the staircase from heaven (hell?).

She swallowed a lump in her throat. A tall, orange haired man with a bunch of facial piercings looked to be in the midst of a heated discussion with their Itachi. He didn't seem too happy at the appearance of the two girls in the cellar either.

"The four week food rations are only for eleven people. What the hell are we supposed to do with two extras?"

"We might not be _trapped_ here for four weeks," Itachi explained carefully, glancing around the crowded room, aware of all eyes on the two girls he brought home with him. "But if that's your biggest concern, they can eat _my_ rations. I don't care."

"You're going to split it with them?" asked Pain, squinting his eyes at his comrade. Itachi nodded.

On principle, Pain didn't like giving in to people's demands, but he remembered the reason he started Akatsuki to begin with. "It's settled then," the leader said, spinning around to face his new guests with a look of disdain. "Welcome to the Akatsuki House." He threw his arms up in the air in a mock symbolic gesture and turned on his heels to exit the room behind a large black curtain, but not before uttering a hushed warning towards his raven-haired underling. What seemed to be the only other female in the 'house', a pretty looking blue-haired girl, followed quickly after him.

"Don't mind him," whispered Itachi to his guests after he made his way back over to them. "The fact that he didn't put up much of a fight is a good sign."

Sakura didn't know if she should be relieved by this news or not by this, but didn't have much time to think about it because the people in the house began introducing themselves, once angry expressions gone and replaced by intense curiosity.

"Hi!" said one guy shattering the awkward silence. He was wearing an eye patch and the skin on the adjacent side of his face had some scars, but they didn't look recent (Sakura noted). "My name is Tobi! Umm, just so I don't freak you out later, I suppose I should tell you now that I have split personality disorder." Sakura blinked as the strange man quickly moved from herself to Rin, not giving her a second to respond. Rin for some reason, seemed to have a pained expression on her face.

" _It's nice to meet you_ ," Rin said in an oddly stiff way. The pair locked eyes for a second-too-long before the next pair moved up - the two men who had greeted them at the doorway with guns. Sakura would have to pester Rin about that odd encounter later.

"I'm Deidara, hn, and this is Sasori."

Sakura nodded as they moved on.

Then two identical twins came up. "Hey, I'm Shiro!" said one, frantically shaking her hand. He honestly reminded her of the guy Tobi from before. His twin just nodded to her, saying "I'm Kuro. Don't mind my brother," he shook his head, obviously embarrassed, and then moved on. Sakura noted that the only real thing different about them was their hair color, and apparently their personalities. Other than that they looked like carbon copies of each other.

"Great, I think you've just about officially met everyone," said Itachi, relieved that most everyone seemed to be accepting of them. That would make it harder for Pain to kick them out later.

He pointed to the corner of the room where two guys were still sitting, not bothering to get up and greet the two new girls. "That's Hidan," Itachi said, pointing to the silver-haired teen who only nodded to her and Rin, and then smiled at them both in a sick way that made Sakura feel uneasy.

"And that's Kakuzu," he said, pointing to the man beside Hidan who seemed to be sleeping, although it was hard to tell because he was wearing a hoodie that covered most of his face and body. "You already met Pain and his girlfriend Konan," he pointed towards the black curtain they had disappeared into. "They all aren't too bad once you get to know them," he promised, smiling at the girls.

With the exception of Hidan and Kakuzu they all sat down and got to know each other a little bit better, trying to find a way to kill time and their boredom, and it became quite apparent to the girls after awhile that all the guys in the Akatsuki House were in some sort of gang together. _Great_.

But in all honesty as Itachi said, they weren't all that bad. The 'group' Akatsuki (or 'community response team' as Tobi had put it), were somehow prepared for something like a zombie apocalypse to happen, because the room was stocked with guns, ammunition and food.

They were down in the basement for what seemed like hours, laughing and almost forgetting the situation they were in, when finally some sound of activity from above could be heard. A loud explosion sent ripples throughout the underground lair, shaking the guns lining the walls. Even the eternally sleeping Kakuzu jolted awake and drew his gun out from his jacket, peeking his head through his hoodie. The black curtains were flung back in a swift frenzy and Pain took curt strides across the room with Konan dutifully by his side.

"There was an explosion on the surface," he explained. "Itachi, Kuro, come with me," he ordered, and immediately the two jumped up and followed him, climbing up the stairs to the above basement and then ground floors.

 _What was going on?_

The members of the cellar spent the next few minutes in silence, sweating with guns cocked and loaded before the three started climbing back down, to everyone's relief.

"The rioters," Pain announced. "They made it to our street." Sakura could not help but let fear grip at her heart. "They must have gotten hold of some sort of dynamite because the blue house down the road exploded - that was the explosion we heard just a few minutes ago - and they are looting the place as we speak. It's best we don't make any noise from now on," he said gravely. "Let's all get some sleep. We have a full day ahead of us tomorrow." Someone pulled the string off the hanging bulb, and with a small _click_ all light was extinguished from the area.

Sakura placed her arms around Rin's waist comfortingly, and the two shuffled over to where she remembered a couch was. It was a surprised to find somebody already laying on it however.

"It's ok," said Itachi's familiar voice coming up from the couch. Sakura couldn't see anything through the darkness, but soon some blankets were being placed in her arms. "You two can sleep here. Get some sleep and we'll check out the above situation in the morning."

But Sakura could not sleep at all, even snuggled up next to Rin on the lumpy sofa. The screams and sounds of chaos above were too close, and too alarming.

…...

Sakura jolted awake from her half-sleep state hours later from a nightmare, and glanced over at her near-dead cell phone. _5:04 AM._ Eyes now adjusted to the faint light however, she glanced around the room. Kuro and Shiro occupied one of the other couches, and the rest were scattered about, wrapped up in sleeping bags or blankets on the floor - Kakuzu still in his usual spot. Sakura glanced down and noticed Itachi right beneath her, one blanket tangled around his body. He had slept next to them apparently. _How cute_.

She did her best to get out of the couch without waking Rin. _Check_. Next was to step over Itachi. _Check_. She then decided to explore the rest of the hideout until everybody woke up. For safety purposes, she reasoned.

All in all, besides the living room she found the black curtains directly led into a tiny kitchen with a huge, stocked pantry. Next, a bathroom, then two smaller rooms – both stocked with every weapon imaginable. She ran a hand along the walls in one of the rooms, feeling the cold, hard metal. And then something caught her eye from across the room. Picking up a medium sized baseball bat in her hands, she smiled at the heavy coolness of it. _This_ she could use.

Her valiant thoughts of zombie slaying, kendo style, were interrupted however when a light flickered on. She shouldn't have been surprised to turn around and find none other than Itachi himself standing in the doorway, staring at her with his usual unreadable expression, but she was. He made her feel as though she had just been caught doing something dirty.

"You're lucky _I'm_ the one who found you here," he growled at her, still half asleep. "You shouldn't be snooping."

"I-I just," she stammered, placing the bat back down in its corner. "I just wanted to see what was all down here. I was curious! For all I knew, you all could have been some freaky necro cult or something."

It was too early for Itachi to hide his smirk so he wore it with pride and closed the distance between them. "I see you found us out. That's too bad. Now I wonder, will you still stay with us now that you know our secret? Or would you take your chances outside with all the _real_ undead people?"

Sakura's cheeks flushed the same color as her hair, if only because of how close Itachi was. Pretty soon she was pressed up against a wall, with the butt of an AK thrust painfully into her lower back.

"What?" she said uneasily, ready to conjure up some of her old Kendo training if need be, to grab Rin and escape. But Itachi had already let her go and was laughing.

"A necro cult? Please," he said, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. "I need coffee before you start throwing accusations like that at me."

Sakura blushed again, but this time from slight embarrassment. "Don't be a jackass! Put yourself in my shoes… Or better yet, put some clothes on!" Seriously, would it kill Itachi to keep his shirt on in the presence of a lady? He only blinked at her, unashamed of the fact he was standing in front of her with nothing but a pair of boxers on. "Rin and I are on edge after everything that's happened…"

Itachi sighed, deciding he probably should be more sympathetic or whatever. This girl in front of him probably grew up in an upper middle class home, in a relatively safe neighborhood. Itachi wasn't, however, one to apologize for his actions.

"Anyway, why were you snooping around here? Isn't there a saying about curiosity and how it can kill cats?"

"I think I deserve to know if I'm stowing away with some _gang_ members, even if you aren't all up to something culty. I'm pretty sure _gang members_ can kill me too."

"You think we are in a gang?" he asked, now immensely curious in all of her assumptions about them.

"How else would you have all this," she said, pointing around the room towards the weapons and ammo. "Unless you all were up to illegal business deals."

Itachi's stare changed for a moment. "Are you scared of us?" he asked.

Sakura had to think about this one - checking the deep pit of her uneasy stomach. "No," she responded after a while, not completely lying. At least, she would rather be in a compound full of relatively kind gang members than back at her apartment filled with the crazies.

Itachi nodded and then sat down. "Well then, since we are both up, we might as well hang out."

And then proceeded their talking. It was actually kind of nice for the both of them to have some intellectual discussions for a change. Itachi was really only able to have great conversations with Obito - but he came around only every so often - and sometimes Pain, but as leader he was always so busy.

Topics ranged from University, to government and politics, to psychology and philosophy, to post-modernism and the age old-god and religion questions, particularly Buddhism and Christianity.

Regardless, throughout their conversation Sakura was able to conclude that Itachi was both deep, and depressing in his world views.

"I am simply the sum of my experiences," he was telling her. "I believe we each get to create our own meanings in life. But that doesn't change the fact that we have no purpose in this otherwise meaningless existence."

Sakura scratched her head. "So you're an atheist?"

"Perhaps if you asked me if I believed in some sort of supreme being or arbitror?" Itachi responded back, eager for her to keep up on his wavelength. "Or if I believed there are any absolutes at all? My answer, of course, would be - _maybe_. _Maybe_ one day we'll get to find out. But for now, man will continue to create their own realities, and _I_ will continue to -"

"Watch from your ivory tower?" Sakura interjected, _almost_ causing the corners of Itachi's mouth to rise yet again. But only almost. "And _maybe_ ," she continued, mocking the way he said it earlier, hard-bound and determined to stop his monologue that was beginning to make her head hurt. " _Maybe_ one day I'll get you to smile from all the way up there. You know, with the rest of civilization down here."

"I don't think that I'm _better_ than you," he said truthfully, noting her wit. "If you think that your ideas about the world are better, then by all means prove me wrong."

But before Sakura could open her mouth to attempt to do just that, Deidara's head popped through the black curtains, eyeing them both suspiciously. It was then Sakura realized that Itachi _still_ hadn't bothered to put a shirt - or pants for that matter - back on since he woke up.

Just the thought of what they might look like - him half naked and her in her camisole and shorts sitting so close together on the floor of the otherwise empty weapons room set the tips of her ears ablaze. She tried desperately to think of some way to explain that it was not what it looked like, but failed.

"Oh, Deidara! I-I-I."

"Hate to break you two love birds up," he said talking over her. "But Pain is calling a meeting. Now."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for all of you followers and reviewers! I honestly wasn't going to update this for a while longer, but since I saw these nice reviews I thought I should give something back to show my appreciation. *heart*.**

 **Someone from the comment section noted *Itachiwithhisshirtoff* so I thought I'd add some more of that here in this chapter for the kicks and giggles. ;)**

 **I hope I didn't bore people with the Itachi/Sakura dialogue at the end there. I felt it was necessary to portray Itachi's character. Plus, it was fun for me to try and get into his head for a little bit. The dialogue was originally about 3x the length, but I cut a lot out because I wasn't sure how interested people were in that, so let me know.**

 **Oh, and FYI the next chapter will revolve around split-personality!Obito and Rin, so watch out for that!**

 **(My Life Update:** **This year was my first time making Thanksgiving dinner by myself, and it was a huge success! I had some friends over who were stuck at school for the holidays as well and we feasted. Anyway, that's my life and I'll be spending the rest of the weekend gorging on leftovers and writing a 15 page research paper.)**

 **Thanks for the reviews again, everybody! Have a great weekend y'all.  
**


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